Kickoff notes for content strategy
Some readings before diving in
Many of you probably know that content marketing is an important part of digital strategy, sales, and/or lead generation, but may not know where to start. The good news is that anyone can do content marketing. You and your team can get started by reading some of the articles below and trying it yourselves. In my initial meetings with potential clients, I try to dissuade them from engaging my services. Content is most authentic as in-house sharing. Don’t hire someone if you don’t have to!
A useful tool to start
One of the ways to get into content marketing is to have it take up less of your time. I recommend social media scheduling with Buffer. To get the free account, sign up for the 14-day free trial and let it expire without paying. You will be able to continue forever with 3 free accounts. For B2B companies, that’s enough usually to have your LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
Thinking about content
For conceptual framework, I have one favourite go-to: Animalz.co. Personally, I like them because I think they write excellent content strategy approaches. Content is more cohesive when you know exactly what your goal is, who you are writing for, and what each type of content you create does. You’ll need to supplement these concepts with other sources that guide you through step-by-step execution.
- https://www.animalz.co/blog/b2b-content-marketing/
- https://www.animalz.co/blog/content-marketing-strategy/
- https://www.animalz.co/blog/content-marketing-power-laws/
- https://www.animalz.co/blog/core-concepts/
Execution starting point
Once you have a sense of whether you are doing content for top-of-funnel brand awareness, or bottom of funnel conversions, it’s time to think about how to build your editorial calendar. Hubspot is a great source of long-form guides to get you started.
- https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-marketing-plan
- https://blog.hubspot.com/
- https://blog.marketo.com/
- https://seths.blog/ Seth is a legend. I don’t follow him, but maybe his writing style appeals to you.
Other sources of inspiration
Content is usually where new teams and emerging brands can differentiate themselves. A unique position and inspiring story is what allows small companies to compete with established firms. As such, in addition to learning the formula for SEO and template listicles that have their use once in a while, read writing from people who are respected for their voice so that you can find yours.
- http://andrewchen.co/
- https://brianbalfour.com/essays/learn-growth-marketing
- https://m.signalvnoise.com/
- Marketing Over Coffee Podcast (iTunes link here) also has some nice conversations
My final thoughts
Content marketing is effective when the right investments are made. Quality written content is more expensive than we’d like, which is why it is important to invest in strategic evergreen content. To get started, here are two things you can do:
- Automate low hanging fruit (i.e. cross-posting on platforms) and reuse content (i.e. blog post images for social media), so that you can…
- Invest time into the content itself (i.e. blog post, video, podcast).
